Seal-lock



(dMoaeL) 2 sheets-sheet E. H. LEA 8v W. B. MARKS.

SEAL LOCK No. 417,359. Patented Dec. 17, 1889.-

N. PETERS` Phn\u-Li\hogmphcr. Wahinginn. B. C.

2 sne-ets-shee E. H. LEA & W. B. MARKS.

(No Model.)

SEAL LOCK.

- Patented Dec.. 17, 1889..

' g/ Y MJ UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. v

EDWIN IIOLMEs LEA AND WALTER BOOTH MARKs, OE RICHMOND, VIRGINIA.

SEAL-LOCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 417,359, dated December 17, 1889. Application filed March 26, 1889. Serial No. 304,790. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it knownthat we, EDWIN HOLMES LEA and WALTER BOOTH MARKS, citizens of the United States, residing at Richmond, in the county of Henrico and Stateof Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Seal-Locks for Freight and other Cars; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, forming part of this our specification of said invention.y

Our present invention consists in certain constructions in seal-locks for freight or postal cars and other vehicles which are an irnprovement upon the invention embraced in Letters Patent granted us February 26, 1889, No. 398,411, and while the object of the present invention is the same as that to which our said patent relates-to wit, the exposure of either a lawful or unlawful unlocking of the car--the means we now employ for such purpose are both simpler and more cheaply constructed, and at the same time equally if not more effective in action.

Our invention consists in a novel construction of a locking sliding staple-bolt provided with a gravitating tumbler which, when the locking of the door of the car is effected, prevents the sliding staple-holt being withdrawn from its locked position, and which, when the sliding staple-bolt is not locked, prevents an undue forward projection of such bolt, as wellas its entire withdrawal from outside the car.

It consists, also, in theimproved construction of t-he metal shell or casing of the sliding staple-bolt with reference to an accesspassage in the door-post of the car, whereby ready access is had for the manipulation of the gravita-ting tumbler from a point outside of the grailrdoor of the carto eit'ect a release of the' sliding staple-bolt from a locked condition, and also in providing a passage through the saidsliding bolt for the insertion of a pin to prevent a casual undue rearward move` ment of the sliding bolt during the act of applying a tag to the car-lock.

In the drawings, Figure l is an elet ation of a railroad grain-car, showing its outer sliding. door thrown open and exposing to View a grain-door in rear, which, when closed, as shown, prevents the grain in the body of the car from running out when the outer door is opened. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of a portion of one of the main posts ot' the car to which our car lock and seal are applied, t-he post being located at the right-hand of the entrance-way of the car, as shown in 6o Fig. l, the line of section passing centrally through the car-lock, and the view showing the locking sliding staple-bolt drawn out preparatory to closing the outer sliding door of the car and manipulating the hasp of the 6 5 door and the several parts of the car-lock and the tag into the locked condition shown in Fig. 4. Fig. 3 is a similar view to Fig. 2, but with the parts locked. Fig. 4 is a horizontal section `longitudinal of the car, with the line 7o of section passing centrally through thelocking sliding staple-bolt of the car-lock and the hasp of the car-door, but with the staple-bolt unsectioned. Fig. 5 is a detached View of the car-lock proper with its staple-bolt drawn 7 5 out', and illustrating how to apply the lock seal or tag thereto, as seen applied, partly in sectional view, in Fig. G.

We would here state that one great advantage of our improvementconsists in this, that 8o by applying our car-lock in connection with the door-post of a car, or that part of a car which is adj oined by or contiguous to the forward edge of the outer sliding door of the car when the door is closed, the operator is able, when saidvdoor is open, to reach into the car and release the sliding staple-bolt of the carlock from its locked condition preparatory to relooking and sealing the car without entering the car for that purpose, as has hereto- 9o fore been the case. This advantage will more clearly appear when lit is stated that heretofore the operator has been obliged to enter the car and even get into its grain-apartment in Order to accomplish the unlocking of the sliding staple-bolt' preparatory to a relooking and sealing of the car.

In the drawings, Fig. l, we have shown only i such portions of a freight-car as are necessary to illustrate ourinvention-to wit, a car-body Ico A, its outer sliding door Bywith a hinged swinging locking-hasp c applied thereto, as shown, an inner vertically-sliding grain-door D, against the inside of which grainwill rest when occupying the grain-apartment of the car, and a fra me or door-post E, against which in this instance the outer sliding door l5 is made to abut when the door is sluit, t-hough the door in some instances when closed may not abut against the post, and may even more or less lap the outside surface ot the post and still admit of the application of our car lock and seal. To this post E-say central of its length-we apply our car-lock F, as indicated in the tigures, by boring into the post a hole g of suficientdiamcterto snugly admit of the insertion of the car-lock, and into the rear portion of which holel g a hand-passage con nects by an oval or other proper opening y made in the side of said post, as clearly indicated in Figs. l, 2, 3, and l. Thus applied, it will be seen that the post serves as a casing to protect and shield the car-lock from external injury, as well as conceal it from view, while at the same time access may be had to the interior of the car-lock F by the operator reaching through the hole g when the door B is open, as shown in Fig. l, and thus release the gravitating locking-tumbler 7i from its locked position, (shown in Fig. 3,) and at the same time manipulate it to its unlocked position (shown in Fig. 2) when it is desired to move forward the slidingl staple-bolt Il from its position shown in Fig. 3 to its position shown in Fig. 2 preparatory to applying a seal-tag.

The view Fig. 5 shows the car-lock F detached from the car-post E, and which consists of a metal case I of exterior circular form about two-thirds of its length, as shown in Fig. 5, and with its right-hand portiont'y extending rearwardly beyond its completelycircular portion and confined to the post E by a screw f, as shown. This metal case l is of circular form outside about two-thirds its length, and is iliade .throughout with an interior square passage-way i2 to receive the sliding staplebolt Il, and in which said bolt is made to closely tit, but still be capable of having easylongitudinal movement, while the bolt itself is made with a vertical slot or recess through its rear portion, as at 7L', and between the walls h2 71? of which slot the gravit-ating locking-tumbler 7i is secured by the transverse pin f', as shown, the connection between said tumbler and pin being such as to freely allow of the articulation of the tumbler upon the pin as an axis ot` movement. The under outer end of the locking-tumbler h is made with a hooking portion l, so as to engage with the under portion of the metal case I when the staple-bolt H is thrust back into a locked position, as shown in Figs. 3 and l, thereby effectually preventing the withdrawal of the bolt and the unlocking of the car without the destruction of the seal-tag. Upon its upper outer end the tumbler 7L is provided with a detent, as at Z2, which, by striking against y:the upper end portion Z3 of the case I when in position, as in Fig. 2, effectually limits the forward throw of the bolt and prevents its entire withdrawal from its metal ease.

In Figs. and 4 a locked condition of the ear-door B is indicated, and with a seal-tag V, Fig. 6, applied on the sliding locking-bolt ll in such manner that when the car has been thus locked and tagged it is impossible to either lawfully or unlawfully open the cardoor ll without destroying the tag \V, and thus expose the fact that the car-door has been opened. In this instance the tag W' consists ot' a thin sheet of wood made in the form shown, with a rectangular central opening which is occupied by a portion of the bolt ll when the tag is applied, as shown in Fig. 6, while on the face of the tag the date and loeality of locking the car can be stamped, as well as the destination,contents, and number of the car, &c.

To enable this tag to be properly applied and secured to the car-lock, the outer end of the bolt H is made with a loop fm, having an entra-nce m to the interior opening m2 in which to seat the tag.

Fig. 5. shows the bolt extended forward to receive the tag, which tag in the act of application is inverted from its normal. upright position (shown in Fig. G) and held by the operator with its bar w directly over the entrance m. This done, the operator lowers down the tag in the line of the dotted line a: until the bar 1r strikes the bottom of the interior opening m2. The tag is then bodily slid along on the bottom of the opening m2 until that part of the tag above the loop m occupiesavertical position, (signified by dotted line a) whereupon the tag is turned down and made to travel and describe a half-circle (indicated by the arrow r) until it has reached its pendent position, (indicated by dotted lines m2,) which position is its normal position upon the bolt H, as clearly indicated in Fig. 6, when the car is completely locked and tagged, as shown in Fig. 4.

By reference to Fig. 5 it will be seen that the locking sliding boltI H is provided with two pin-holes through it, as at o' and i", to receive, as occasion may require, the pin lf2, which is for convenience hung to the post E by a chain, as shown.

lVhen it is desired to apply a tag W', the bolt Il is drawn out into its position shown in Fig. 2, and to prevent the casual rearward movement Vof the bolt, so as to let the tumbler 71y fall back by its own gravity into its locked position, (shown in Fig. 8,) the pin r2 is inserted through t-he hole o', as shown in Fig. 2.

In applying the seal or tag the door B is closed, with the bolt ll passed through the eye c of the hasp, as shown in Fig. 4. Then the seal or tag is applied and the pin r2 inserted through the pin-hole o" between the hasp and thc tag, as shown in Fig. f3, where it will receive the slight shocks of the hasp, which being done, the operator will then thrust the bolt H back from its position shown in Fig. 2 to its position shown in Figs. 3 and IOO IIO

4:, thereby completely locking the car-door with the tag applied,as fully shown in Fig..4. I'Vhen thus locked, it will be seen that the entrance on to thc interior opening m2 of the loop of the bolt II, occupied by the bar w of the tag W, has passed into the metal case I, and that the hasp is between the case I and the tag NV, and that now, the door B being closed, it is impossible to unlock the door or remove the tag without first withdrawing the pin r2 from the pin-hole lr', then violently drawing the hasp ott from the sliding locking-bolt II, thereby destroying the tag IV, and this destruction of the tag lV must always occur before the car can `either lawfully or unlawfully be entered. Supposing that the car has been opened, still leaving the car-lock F in the locked condition, (shown in Figs. 3 and 4,) and that it is desired to again apply a tag and relock the car in the condition shown in Fig. 4, the operator, the door being open, can stand outside, reach his hand into opening` g in the post E, manipulate the tumbler 7L from its locked position, (shown in Fig. 3,) and then shove the tumbler and sliding locking-bolt I-I into the position shown in Fig. 2, whereupon he can then proceed to apply the tag and relock the car-door, as hereinbefore described.

By reference to Figs. 3 and 4 it will be seenthat the metal case I on its rear side is of a length equal to the depth of the hole 2 whichl Y is shown with ahorizontal passage n through it, and by this passage the wire of an ordinary lead seal can be passed through the pin and the loopof the sliding bolt and its ends united and sealed with alead seal in the same manner ai with the ordinary lead seal. This mode of sealing might be adopted in lieu of our improved perforated tag-seal in cases of emergency or where our perforated tagseals IV are not at hand; but the improved tag-seal is iar preferable and much more effective.

IVhat we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isv l. In a seal-lock, a bolt provided with a tumbler and terminated inwardly between the grain door and the outside door of the car, in combination with the car-frame portion E, provided with anA aperture g, aiord-. ing access to the tumbler of the bolt from a point between said doors, substantially as described.

l2. A car-lock which comprises in its construction a locking-bolt I-I and a metal case I, surrounding said locking-bolt H, and with its rear portion cut away or left open on one side to afford access for the adjustment of the locking-t umbler h of said locking-bolt from a point between the grain and car doors, substantially as described.

A railroad-car lock F, having a gravitating locking-tumbler 7i, provided with a hooking under portion l and upper detent portion Z2, in combination with a sliding bolt H and a metal case I, constructed with an upper end portion Z3, substantially as and for the purpose described.

4. Acar-lock F, having a sliding lockingbolt H, provided with the usual pin-opening 0"', and also an opening o' to receive the pin and restrain the bolt from casual rearward movement during the act of applying a seal to the lock, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof we hereunto aiiiX our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

EDVIN IIOLMES LEA. IVALTER BOOTH MARKS.

IVit'nesses:

L. E. SIMPSON, R. R. FIELD. 

